The present invention addresses itself to the problem of measuring the contents of gasoline in an underground gasoline tank as well as obtaining an indication of the extent to which water has accumulated into said gasoline tank.
In gasoline stations, regardless of the precautions which may be taken, a certain amount of water will inevitably accumulate in the gasoline tanks and the accumulation of an excessive amount of water in the tanks is clearly undesirable. Accordingly, it becomes important for the gasoline station attendant to prevent excessive accumulation of water in the gasoline tanks and towards such end, it is necessary to ascertain periodically the amount of water in the tank and to remove such water when it exceeds a predetermined minimum quantity.
In accordance with the prior art, the most conventional way of ascertaining the quantity of water in a gasoline tank is to use a dip stick suitably taped and insert the same inside the tank until it hits bottom, causing a marking on the tape corresponding to the water level at the bottom of the tank. This method is rather cumbersome, unprecise and has the further disadvantage that it requires the gasoline tank to be opened for the measurement, creating hazardous conditions.
Another method of accomplishing the same result in accordance with the prior art is by use of sophisticated electronic scanning systems. Such systems, however, are highly complex, fragile and expensive and thus outside the reasonable reach of most gasoline station operators.